Auto-stereoscopic displays give the observer the visual impression of depth, and are therefore specifically useful for applications in the CAD area, but also have applications in 3D gaming and motion picture entertainment. The impression of depth is achieved by providing the two eyes of the observer with different images which correspond to the view from the respective eye onto the virtual scene. For background information on Autostereoscopic Displays, reference is made to: “Autostereoscopic Displays and Computer Graphics”, by Halle in Computer Graphics, ACM SIGGRAPH, 31(2), May 1997, pp58-62.
Passive auto-stereoscopic displays require the observer to hold their head in a specified position, the sweet spot, where the eyes can observe the correct images. Such systems require the user to keep their head in this specified position during the whole experience and therefore have low market acceptance. When looked at from a position other than the sweet spot, the image looses the impression of depth and becomes inconsistent, resulting in eye strain as the brain attempts to make sense of the images it perceives. This eye strain can generate a feeling of discomfort very quickly which encumbers the market acceptance even more.
Active auto-stereoscopic displays in addition contain a device to track the position of the head and the eyes, typically a camera coupled with IR LED illumination, but other methods such as magnetic or capacitive methods are feasible. Once the position of the eyes relative to the display is known, the display is adjusted to project the two image streams to the respective eye locations. This adjustment can be achieved either by a mechanical device that operates a physical mask which is placed in front of the display or by a liquid crystal mask that blocks the view to the display from certain directions but allows the view from other directions, i.e. the current position of the eyes. Such displays allow the users head to be in a convenient volume in front of the auto-stereoscopic display while the impression of depth is maintained.
Although active auto-stereoscopic displays are much more practicable than passive displays, it has been found that such displays can suffer from the lag introduced by the head tracking system. When moving the head, the time between the actual head motion and the adjustment of the display to the new head position causes an offset sufficiently large to break the impression of depth and the consistency of the images with the previously described problems. This effect is particularly visible with mechanically adjusted displays.
Often applications for active auto-stereoscopic displays specifically use the head position of the observer not only to adjust the display to maintain the impression of depth but also to change the viewpoint of the scene. Such systems actively encourage the observer to move their head to get a view of the scene from different directions. In such applications visual consistency breakdowns during every head motion reduces the usability.